2018 Partners editos

This 17th Summer Defence Conference will be opening in a strategic context of high instability: tensions in the Gulf, war in Yemen and Libya, grey zones in the Sahel and Syria, global and regional powers, USA to China, Turkey to Russia are back on the geopolitical scene. In this uncertain and menacing environment, it is vital that France and Europe commit to reinforcing the strategic utonomy of the «Old Continent», so that we remain masters of our destiny and not the pawns of power politics.
History teaches us that without control of our military resources, this strategic autonomy is merely illusory.

The French military aviation industry, through its mastery of the most strategic technologies and the part it plays in nuclear deterrence, contributes to the freedom of the decision-making of politicians and the autonomy of action of the military. It is a sector of activity in which France possesses, thanks to its manufacturers, unique skills in Europe, as testified by the performance of the Rafale, the fruit of continuous R&D efforts over a period of 70 years. Maintaining such a level of skills requires an outlook and projects that extend beyond the requisite continued development of this aircraft.

This is why I applaud the Franco-German initiative of 13 July 2017 announcing the decision to launch a new fighter jet, enshrined on 17 June of this year at the Paris Air Show in intergovernmental agreements between France, Germany, Spain, and involving manufacturers including Dassault Aviation and Airbus, for the Future Air Combat System (SCAF), and in the submission by Dassault Aviation of a joint proposal with Airbus for an NGF demonstrator, the mockup of which was unveiled in the presence of the French President, Emmanuel Macron, the French Minister for the Armed Forces, Florence Parly, and her German and Spanish counterparts.

The launch of this demonstrator, for which the DGA will be the contracting authority, with Dassault Aviation as prime contractor and Airbus as «principal partner», is essential if we want to be sure of having the skills needed to meet the requirements of the Armed Forces come 2040. The manufacturers, who now await the project’s launch, have organised themselves to ensure that a demonstrator can make its maiden flight in 2026, thus prefiguring the aircraft that should guarantee superiority on future battlefields for the French, German and Spanish Air Forces.

Between now and then it is essential that we pursue the incremental developments of the Rafale to ensure that our forces remain at the highest world standard. This is the principle underlying the launch of the F4 standard, targeting in particular connectivity and the pursuit of certain developments on the nEUROn. These developments, along with resumption of deliveries for France, are key to ensuring transmission of know-how and the maintenance of critical skills.
It is through being able to maintain these efforts over the long term, with infinitely more modest resources than are available to our transatlantic competitors, that we will retain the capacities enabling France and Europe to remain at the summit of world combat aviation in the 21st century. So that France and Europe remain masters of their destiny in an uncertain strategic environment.

The Military Applications Division (DAM) of the French Atomic Energy Commission (CEA) is in charge of nuclear weapons programs, nuclear reactors programs for naval propulsion of the French navy submarines and aircraft carrier, and contributes to the prevention of nuclear proliferation.
Since the definitive end of French nuclear tests in 1996, the guarantee of operational performance and safety of French nuclear weapons has relied on the Simulation Program. DAM develops numerical codes which reproduce the complexity of nuclear weapons functioning by high level physical models, co-designs with Atos/Bull the supercomputers setting up simulations, and validates these numerical results through major experimental physics facilities, including the Megajoule Laser. The challenge of changeover to simulation, evidenced by the nuclear warheads renewal, has been met with success.

How digital technologies are transforming the battlefield of tomorrow
 
Technological innovation used to be driven by military research, but digital technologies have now tilted the balance in favour of civil R&D. This is a tremendous opportunity for the defence community.
Thanks to new information and communication technologies, the armed forces are about to enter the era of connected, collaborative combat. In an unstable environment, this calls for ever greater agility. Big Data, artificial intelligence and cloud computing can make our intelligence and command systems more effective, while combatants can expect an intuitive user experience to access the right information in real time to make the best decisions.
These changes are taking place so quickly, however, that we need to adjust our processes. We must adopt agile, more iterative design and development processes, and achieve the capacity to quickly insert new technologies into cycles that are significantly shorter than government defence reviews. We also need to adjust our portfolio of solutions to focus less on selling systems and more on providing capabilities as a service.
The challenge we face, and the commitment we demonstrate every day, is to provide the very best to our armed forces by guaranteeing cybersecurity, resilience and the ability to adapt instantly to the toughest environments.

 

Roxel is developing offers and is increasing its international market share in the defence area. As well as proposing high performance products, Roxel also offers support and services through targeted cooperations to satisfy requests from numerous countries.
 
Roxel is the European leader and world number three for propulsion of rockets and tactical missiles, and is present in all segments of the market (air, land and sea) involved with the control of key technologies.
 
By using very modern methods (Lean-6Sigma, One Roxel model, etc) Roxel is deploying a continuous improvement plan to achieve ambitious goals of efficiency, reactivity and competitiveness. Roxel also builds on investment and innovation to prepare for the future by researching technologies and processes currently not used with existing products, and therefore generating the best possible value for its customers.

War is changing face: there, is the starting point of this 2019 Defence Summer Conference. Can we then predict the perspectives of such a transformation?
The novelty lies today in the acceleration of change, which requires organisation and anticipation to always stay ahead. It lies as well in its magnitude, since war is currently experiencing, after nuclear deterrence, the greatest change in its history under the influence of the digital revolution. Navy personnel of tomorrow are connected, military ships of tomorrow are connected, and enemies of tomorrow are connected.
We must therefore, collectively, not follow but encourage and stimulate progress so that it remains where we want it: at the service of human beings, with no substitution, and of national sovereignty.

RUAG Defence France results from the encounter between the excellence of an international industrial group and the agility of a French SME firmly established in the South-West of France.
With its know-how in state-of-the-art technologies, RUAG Defence France constantly raises the challenges of complex projects, in the field of simulation and shooting training, by intervening from conception to production and also by providing support solutions.
RUAG Defence France is impatient and proud to participate in the 17th Summer Defence Conference. This unmissable event will enable it to strengthen its position as a specialized player and increase its visibility. It will also give it the opportunity to actively contribute to the strategic thinking of the sector and reaffirm its commitment within the French and European defence community.
RUAG Defence France would like to thank and congratulate the organizers for their professionalism and efficiency. It renews its confidence in the prospect of 2019 edition that promises to be rich in meetings and discussions at the highest level.

Nexter, driver of land defense innovation, partaker of the UED 2019

Nexter, a KNDS company, french land defense system architect and integrator, is present at the 17th “Université d'Été de la Défense” (UED), which is being held this year in Avord (Cher) on the 12th and 13th of September. Determined to be a force of proposal in order to best meet the ever-changing needs resulting from the changes in warfare, Nexter will actively participate in the debates and discussions that will be held at this University. Fully aware that the protection of deployed forces no longer depends exclusively on the thickness of the armor, but that it also implies being able to anticipate new threats such as cyber, the group will present its vision and solutions in terms of innovation, artificial intelligence and digital transformation for our armed forces.
For this 17th edition, Nexter representatives will be able to discuss with high-level French and foreign guests on topics such as the contribution of collaborative combat and AI to operational efficiency or the consequences of technological developments on defense tools.
On Friday afternoon, two delegations of academics will be invited to visit Nexter sites in Bourges and La Chapelle Saint-Ursin. They will thus be able to discover as closely as possible the excellence of its gun and ammunition production workshops, and meet men and women whose know-how enables them to offer our armed forces the best tools to accomplish their missions.
Nexter relies on a strong internal culture of innovation, firmly rooted within its teams. This UED will thus be an opportunity to exchange views with representatives of the French leader in armored combat, artillery, weapons and ammunition systems in its role as a major player in innovation in the land sector.

 

 

​For several years, the military and civilian sectors have been undergoing profound changes: asymmetry of conflicts and levelling of capacities for the former, disruption of economic models and of ecosystems for the latter. In this ever-changing context, it is necessary to continuously reinvent oneself to develop new capacities and new modes of action in order not to disappear. The digital revolution behind all this also offers tremendous opportunities for those who know how to take advantage of it.
A global player, Accenture supports the major industrial groups and public organizations in France in meeting their major challenges by offering cutting-edge services in the fields of strategy, consulting, digital, technology and security. A wide range of skills, to which we combine our ability to design, scale, realize and deploy.
To support the ministry of the Armed Forces, Accenture proposes an enterprise architecture approach that places people at the center and, to achieve this, aligns business, data, organization and culture objectives, with the ultimate objective of improving service to both the military chief and the common soldier.

Major developments are ongoing on the international scene. Rising of new players, conflict mutation, technological breakthroughs, emergence of asymmetric threats and hybrid forms of war, space militarization are all challenges that this year UED focused on  War mutations is inviting politicians, militaries, industrials and academics to analyze to assure tomorrow’s security.
AIRBUS is prepared to contribute to this challenge twofold. At first because we believe it can only be faced at a European scale, through increased collaboration and joint use of financial and industrial resources which our company has now experienced for years. And it is also our conviction that the future airland battle will rely, more than on manned or unmanned platform performances, on our ability to integrate the latters into a system where connectivity shall be the key parameter.

With a legacy of more than 50 years in the continuous development of ballistic missile programs for the French deterrent force and European civil launcher programs, ArianeGroup has been headed since January 2019 by its new CEO, André-Hubert Roussel. The company pursues its commitment to bring all its technological and industrial competence and its innovation capacities to meet the objective of ensuring France's sovereignty, particularly with respect to the sustainability of the M51 weapon system and access to the space for Europe.
Even as the "new space" is changing the economic model of launchers, Ariane 6, with a maiden launch in 2020, will help maintain this independent access in the face of the challenges of fierce international competition.
ArianeGroup has the ability to contribute its expertise and its technical solutions (security, hypersonics, laser, etc.) to achieve the space ambitions of France and Europe. For example, to cope with the increased risk of collisions following the two-fold increase in traffic and new threats in space, ArianeGroup has developed a network of "Geotracker" telescopes that today provides a first space surveillance service fully autonomously.

Capgemini is recognized as a French trusted partner of Armed Forces for more than 50 years.

Capgemini has appropriated Digital Ambition of Ministry of Defense, to accelerate and secure the adoption of innovations, to exploit the ever-increasing volume of operational data, and to integrate and support digital defense systems.
Our in-depth knowledge of the ecosystem enables us to cope with the challenges of efficiency and transformation in a Lean and Agile at scale way, within the constraints of security and interoperability of systems, in areas as complex as the command and control, intelligence, cyber defense, simulation, operational readiness, logistics, or support.
 
Visit us at www.capgemini.com. People matter, results count.

CMI is becoming John Cockerill
Innovation, know-how and commitment
CMI decided this year to reclaim the name of its founder, John Cockerill, a pioneer of the first industrial revolution and the man who founded the company in 1817. The Group is thus reconnecting with its roots and highlighting its original values ​​of innovation and entrepreneurship, which in 15 years have enabled its Defence sector to increase its workforce and turnover by 15, to expand its range of turrets and guns for light armoured vehicles, to design new functionalities, to modernize its 3 manufacturing workshops in France and Belgium to be in a position to manufacture more than 20 turrets per month, to create a training centre of excellence in the Meuse region, to develop simulation tools for operation and maintenance and industrial partnerships in France and Europe. In fact, as in the past, innovation and entrepreneurship are part of our DNA. We remain unconditionally customer-oriented and our spirit of service in France and throughout the world generates partnerships solidly rooted in the long term.
We look forward to meeting you at the 17^th Defence Summer School!
 
Thierry RENAUDIN
CEO John Cockerill Defense
johncockerill.com/defense

More than 60 years ago, the so-called space conquest, an eminently strategic move strongly marked from the outset by the notion of dual use, began.
In the late 1950s, the first incursions of France into the upper atmosphere were the fact of the Veronique rocket directly derived from a military technology watch program. Then, in 1965, France became the third space nation thanks to the Diamant launcher designed by CNES on the basis of the development work of the first French strategic missile. Two decades later, the Spot satellite, which provided the first non-US and non-Soviet picture of the Earth from space was put into orbit. The military value of this program initiated and managed by CNES was clearly perceived by the ministry of defense which decided to launch its own program Helios strongly inspired by Spot. Then, almost ten years ago, the Pleiades satellites designed by CNES offered to the military and the civil sectors very high-resolution color imagery and a very high agility in orbit thanks to technological breakthroughs which then greatly benefited to the CSO military program. The idea of dual use is also behind the development in the 90s by CNES of the microsatellite platform Myriade which is involved in many scientific and military missions (demonstrators Spirale and Elisa). Today, in the same spirit, CNES is working, in partnership with our industry, on the emergence of a French nanosatellite industry prefigured by Angels, which will be launched at the end of this year.
The dual nature of CNES infrastructure, skills and activities has been at the heart of French space policy since its origins. At a time when outer space is recognized as a domain of confrontations, CNES is undoubtedly a strong asset for our defense. It has the means and the will to be so.

​This 17^th edition of the Summer Universities of Defence places the changes of the war in the centre of the debates. Our Armies today have to face different types of conflicts, made of irregular and classic wars, combining high and low intensity, with operations conducted in urbanized and rural areas. The use of force must be proportionate to the threat encountered and its effects controlled. In support of the Armies, our companies must provide solutions adapted to the conduct of operations in all configurations.
Eurenco, the European leader in energetic materials (powders, insensitive explosives and raw materials for solid propulsion loadings), is today adapting its strategy and organization to better meet the needs of its French and foreign customers. With its know-how and its worldwide recognized industrial experience, Eurenco intends to remain a key player of the European defence and of the French sovereignty.

​FCAS, a new approach to air superiority [il s’agit du titre de leur édito]
The 17th edition of the UED organized on Avord airbase 702 is an opportunity to discuss and reflect on the changes in the war with all the actors of Defense. With its unique skills in extended air defense and depth strike, MBDA is able to respond to the significant challenges of evolving threats and A2 / AD. It is therefore not surprising that our Group is a leading industrial partner for the two major future air systems projects in Europe, SCAF and Tempest, while maintaining a strict neutrality between the relevant platforms.
By its position as the European leader in missile systems, MBDA contributes to a strong and independent European BITD thanks to programs in cooperation that share efforts in the budget and industrial skills. MBDA has developed governance models that optimize the economic and technological performance of programs while guaranteeing the sovereign interests of its countries of origin, France (particularly for nuclear deterrence), the United Kingdom, Italy, Germany and Spain. MBDA is thus the key player in Europe in the field of weapons systems and air effectors.
European industrial champion, MBDA fully supports the launch of the European Defense Fund (EDF), which will bring new impetus to capacity cooperation and will play a decisive role in strengthening European strategic autonomy. For this purpose, it is important to be able to associate the United Kingdom with this dynamic. The United Kingdom will remain a key player in the defense of Europe with which we will have to maintain a robust and lasting partnership. It is for a stronger and autonomous Europe that cooperation has emerged which has brought our nations closer together. We must not deviate from this ambition.

ODAS is a private Company, owned jointly by the French State and majors French defence companies. The French State, through its direct control via its shares and those within the defence groups, own over 51% of the shares.
Nimble and responsive structure, ODAS is a trusted advisor which organize, draft and implement
« Government to government » contracts with Saudi Arabia since more than 40 years.
Acting as a program controller and an industry supervisor for the performance of high value defence and security programs of major complexity. Since 2010, ODAS has been awarded over 6 billion-euro contracts.
The company acts as a prime contractor and program controller following closely the performances throughout the life of the programs.

"The mutations of war" central theme of this seventeenth Summer Defense University reminds us of the timeless character of the famous quote of General Carl von Clausewitz "The war is a chameleon that changes nature to each commitment."
France is militarily engaged in many theaters of operations. Our opponents adapt and use their knowledge of the field to try to limit the effectiveness of our own systems.
In combat, it is a matter of deterring an opponent or defeating him. Whether the enemy uses his natural intelligence or acquires artificial intelligence abilities, he will always be deceived or at least surprised.
Technological domination is one of the means to achieve these goals. Any technological delay is likely to pay a heavy price! We live in a world where the diffusion of technologies is faster and where the defense research effort must adapt by proposing innovations in short time.
ONERA is attentive to this acceleration of the tempo that is now evident in all sectors, including space, which was not so long ago the preserve of some actors.
Military aeronautics and space research is one of the determinants of sovereignty and freedom of action, and our current technological level is the result of decades of continuous effort.
Keep this in mind!

​Rheinmetall MAN Military Vehicles (RMMV) is a Joint Venture of Rheinmetall AG and MAN Truck & Bus AG and has combined all essential competencies of its parent companies in mobility and protection
Established in 2010, RMMV is an important provider of complete solutions in the market for military trucks for the international armed forces. RMMV's military vehicles have a reputation as the most mobile and reliable support vehicles for the armed forces worldwide. Today, RMMV offers a range of military vehicles for all assignments, with exceptional lifecycle costs, off-road performance and highest levels of crew protection.
RMMV is responsible for engineering, production and sustainment of the militarized and military truck ranges with a long and successful track record. Since the early 1960s the armed forces of around 60 countries have acquired and operated ten thousands of MAN/RMMV military trucks. In the years 2006 to 2018 more than 18,000 militarized and military trucks have been sold to professional armies worldwide such as Germany, UK and Australia. This outstanding sales record is the result of the highest military capabilities, built-for-life product quality, tailor-made militarization and modification, broad system engineering and integration capabilities as well as the extensive use of tested and proven military and commercial high-tech components of MAN and Rheinmetall. The outstanding product and service performance is reflected in recent sales successes all around the world.
Moreover, RMMV has a strong experience in industrial cooperation dealing with truck acquisition. The company has successfully conducted several programs with different industrial schemes involving local DTIB.
RMMV is all about military vehicles. This is the core and the single focus. The provision of wheeled medium to heavy trucks to military customers who rightly demand the very best is something in which the company excels.

​In a world where wireless communications take a very important place in our daily lives, Rohde & Schwarz occupies a prominent position. Independent group based in Munich for more than 80 years, the company is present in many markets from defense to cybersecurity, but also Broadcast, Test & Measurement, as well as monitoring of communications and networks, civil or military. The technological synergies between all these areas make the company unique in its diversity, originality and stability.
Rohde & Schwarz owns 3 subsidiaries in France, dedicated to sales, support, design & system integration, and more specifically, for development of satellite monitoring solutions, and cybersecurity. With a total workforce of almost 200 employees today, they have, for more than 50 years, largely contributed to the harmonious integration of the group in the French industrial, civil and military landscape.
Present for the first time in the UED, Rohde & Schwarz is proud to be able to participate, at a time when projects in Franco-German cooperation, in which we are fully involved, are increasingly structuring the future of the Europe of the defense.

For more than 70 years, Sopemea has been providing qualification services for the Defence sector, its main field of expertise. Initially created as a laboratory specialising in mechanical and climate testing for aerospace equipment Sopemea (Société pour le Perfectionnement des Matériels et Equipements Aérospatiaux [Company specialising in perfecting aerospace materials and equipment]) has extensive experience of working on major Defence programmes.
Sopemea’s test services cover all the specific requirements of the Defence sector: STANAG 4370 – MIL STD 461 – MIL STD 810 – DEF STAN 0035 – GAM EG 13. Sopemea was notably responsible for drafting the French Ministry of Defence’s guidelines for taking mechanical and climate environments into account and also contributes to preparing and drafting several technical documents for various standards relating to this.
The Group is a stakeholder in the CIN-EG and CEN working groups in charge of recommending the choice military standards at European level. Our engineers provide our customers with support during their test programmes. Sopemea is an active member of the GIFAS and GICAN trade associations.
In September 2017, Sopemea has been expanding its operations and providing its customers with test services in the United Kingdom through its new subsidiary, the PARC laboratory. In 2019, AEMC and AEMC Lab, references in the field of Consulting and Training in Electromagnetic Compatibility (CEM), have integrated Sopemea. Since July, a new cluster of skills, dedicated to the compliance of electrical products, has come to complete this offer.

Stéphane Torrez
Chairman of the Sopemea group
 

 

​"The European leader in digital transformation, Sopra Steria, with its 44,000 employees and revenue of 4.1 billion, is equipping its clients to confront the changes that are revolutionising their profession and economy thanks to increasingly innovative and targeted technologies. We are helping the armed forces confront the changes in warfare, a much talked-about topic this year at the 17th Defence Summer University.
The geopolitical context underscores a change in the positioning of digital, from a place of neutrality to a territorial matter, which is becoming a source of conflict. Sopra Steria is supporting the State in defining a sovereign digital policy and its implementation, from the Cloud to AI-based systems, which will be embedded in critical contexts where there is no room for error and where autonomous decisions must be made.
The changes in warfare also mean the execution of a new joint-forces battlefield, which involves new complexities: increased automation and an even larger variety of enemies with state-of-the-art technologies. It is across all of these domains of support, logistics, command and control, intelligence and cyber-defence that Sopra Steria is helping to guarantee operational technological superiority to confront the enemy.
Sopra Steria is part of the transformation of the Ministry, due to its dual foothold in civilian and military life. A trusted partner of the armed forces, we are helping to strengthen the defence ecosystem through integration of new stakeholders and increasingly deft use of best practices in order to meet the new demands generated by the changes in warfare."
 
Laurent Giovachini
Deputy Managing Director
 

 

SIDES, a member of the ARMORIC HOLDING Group, will present a dynamic demonstration of its SENTINEL S3X 6X6, which equips French military air bases to fight aircraft fires.
Complies with ICAO – ECAC - NFPA standards and regulations.
• Monitored by our simple and ergonomic SCONTROL system
• Safety: direct access to the platform without exiting the cab
• Large storage capacity
• Airport Special Cab: Large volume to driver and crew. Easy movement and storage of equipment
The S3X “OPEX” meets the specific requirements of the French army to be deployed in all its theatres of operations.

Faced with changing risks and the increase of new threats, the capabilities of anticipation, command, information protection and interoperability systems are key. Based on its network of experts on cybersecurity, simulation & augmented reality, embedded systems, image processing, Artificial Intelligence, Big Data analytics, mobility and IoT, CS supports the armed & security forces in the implementation of training and support, command and control systems integrating decision support and secure communications. This 17th edition of the Summer Defence Conference will be the occasion to confront the contribution of our latest innovations to the future orientations in particular in the field of cybersecurity, fight against malicious drone,
imagery intelligence or maritime surveillance.